My best friend Stephanie is a registered dietician and plant-based chef who runs a vegan food truck in Texas called Ripe Cuisine. You can find tons of delicious, yet good-for-you recipes on her site, many of which you'd never know are vegan! Her motto is "eat with a purpose", and it's comforting to know you can do just that, even when a craving for sweets hits! When I want a brownie, I want it to be rich and fudgy, and that's exactly what these are. Stephanie's recipe includes a secret ingredient- black beans- but don't let that deter you. I promise you'll enjoy these just as much as any butter and egg-filled brownie, but you can feel good about the fact that they're both vegan and gluten free!

Flourless Fudge Brownies:

1 cup dark chocolate chunks
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a double broiler, melt chocolate and coconut oil together. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine black beans, cocoa powder, palm sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Pulse a few times to begin to breakdown beans, and with the motor running, pour in the melted chocolate-coconut oil mixture.

Continue to process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the work bowl, as needed. If adding in extra chocolate chips, nuts, etc., now is the time to stir them into the batter.

Using 1 tablespoon coconut oil, grease a 9 inch x 9 inch pan and pour in brownie batter. Bake for 45 minutes until brownies are set. Allow to cool for 30 minutes for brownies to firm up before cutting. Allow them plenty of time to cool and firm up before cutting. Enjoy!

*Makes 9 large brownies

**Optional additions- maca powder, extra chocolate chips, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, nut butter or dried fruit

***Recipe from Ripe Cuisine

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